Worker falls when standing on pallet on forklft truck

LE Jones Ltd, a haulage company of Ruthin, was fined £19,041 (inc. costs) after an employee fell 2m from a pallet on the forks of a forklift truck on 22 February 2011.
The circumstances were:

• The employee was asked to repair a high level tear in the curtain sided lorry trailer unit
• The work had not been properly planned and no suitable equipment had been provided by the company.
• The firm also failed to monitor and supervise the work of its employees.
• To reach the tear, he got on top of a wooden pallet which was raised off the ground by a forklift. 
• After completing the work, he called for another worker to lower him down. 
• The lift truck lurched backwards, causing him to fall off the pallet.
• He suffered serious fractures to both his heels

The HSE Inspector  said: "This entirely preventable incident could have caused much more serious or even life-changing injuries. The company could have provided a permanent gantry or a cherry-picker for routine repairs on its quite large road fleet. Work at height must be properly planned and organised by a competent person. This prosecution should send a strong signal to all companies that improvised work platforms are not acceptable in the modern workplace and HSE will take action where ineffectual monitoring and supervision leads to any incident."